Computer Science Terms
Computer Science Terms:
Composite structure: the size of a typical software system implies that it must be broken down into manageable pieces of this
Composition: the process of building a system using simpler parts or components
Abstraction: the process of ignoring details irrelevant to the problem at hand and emphasizing essential ones. To abstract is to disregard certain differentiating details
Data: the info the program deals with
Functionality: what the program does with the data, the responsibility of the object to do
Object: the most abstract description of a basic component of an object oriented system
Values: a fundamental piece of info that can be manipulated by the program
Types: a set of related values along with the operations that can be preformed with them
Object: fundamental abstractions from which systems are built
Classes: a set of objects having the same features and properties
State of an object: the set of data maintained by an object at any given time
Reference values: a value that denotes an object
Data descriptions: properties of the object (name, date, etc)
Associated value: a property an object has at any given time
Variable: a portion of memory reserved to hold a single value
Instance variables: a variable that is a permanent part of an object: memory space for the variable is allocated when the object is created
Immutable: an object that’s state cannot be changed
Mutable: and object that’s state can be changed
*An object is characterized by the features it offers*
1. Query: a request for data
2. Command: a request to change state
Float & Double: sets of real rational numbers (i.e. 170000 or 1.4e12)
Char: set of values representing Unicode characters
Boolean: true or false values
Int value: contains a single integer
String: and immutable object that contains a sequence of characters
Identifier: a sequence of characters that can be used as a name in a Java program
Literal: a sequence of characters that denotes a particular value in a Java program
Comments: explanatory remarks that are included in a program for the benefit of a human reader and are ignored by the compiler
Chapter 2:
Features of an object: queries and commands
*A client queries and commands a server*
Specification (interface): definition of an object’s features, as seen by its clients
Implementation: provides the internals that actually make up the features
Packages: groups of classes
Public class: indicates that the objects of that class will be accessible throughout the system
Public void: a command is a query that changes the state of the object but do not provide the client with a...